Tag Archives: blaze

A firefighter has been killed battling the largest wildfire in Californian history that has been stoked by prime fire weather conditions as it has destroyed dozens of homes. The unidentified firefighter was killed on Monday while battling the Ranch Fire, one of two blazes that make up the Mendocino Complex, which has already charred about 349,000 acres (141,200 hectares), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said. The Utah firefighter was airlifted to a hospital where he died, fire officials said during a news conference late on Monday.

Cooler temperatures have aided firefighters as they begin to turn the tables on a large wildfire that has torn across Southern California. The Holy Fire was 41 per cent contained by Sunday afternoon after burning over 35.5 square miles of dry timber and brush at Cleveland National Forest, around 100 miles southeast of Los Angeles. “The weather out here in California seems to be cooling down today and over the next couple days, and that should hopefully help firefighters get even more containment,” said Lynne Tolmachoff, of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Firefighters struggled against rugged terrain, high winds and an August heat wave Tuesday to slow the spread of the biggest wildfire ever recorded in California, an inferno that exploded to be nearly the size of Los Angeles in just 11 days.

California’s biggest wildfire on record is expected to burn for the rest of the month, fire officials say, amid strong winds and a summer heatwave. The latest report from firefighters is that 34 per cent of the fire has been contained, after it damaged 75 residences and nearly 2,000 other structures. The state experienced a similarly large wildfire last year in the southern part of the state in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, but the Mendocino Fire has eclipsed the Thomas Fire in size.

By Khanh Vu HANOI (Reuters) – A fire in a Ho Chi Minh City apartment block killed 13 people in the early hours of Friday, state media and a fire department official in the Vietnamese economic hub said. The blaze at Carina Plaza on Vo Van Kiet Street in the city also left 27 others injured, said the fire department official, who did not want to be identified. “The injured are in stable condition now and we are still searching the block to make sure no one is still trapped in there.” The fire began at around 1:00 a.m. (1800 GMT Thursday) at the basement of the block and quickly spread to engulf the building, trapping hundreds of residents, according to the fire official.

By Khanh Vu HANOI (Reuters) – A fire in a Ho Chi Minh City apartment block killed 13 people in the early hours of Friday, state media and a fire department official in the Vietnamese economic hub said. The blaze at Carina Plaza on Vo Van Kiet Street in the city also left 27 others injured, said the fire department official, who did not want to be identified. “The injured are in stable condition now and we are still searching the block to make sure no one is still trapped in there.” The fire began at around 1:00 a.m. (1800 GMT Thursday) at the basement of the block and quickly spread to engulf the building, trapping hundreds of residents, according to the fire official.

One person was injured after a massive fire broke out at an apartment complex near Los Angeles. Firefighters were forced to exit the building and go into “defensive mode” to battle the flames, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department was assisting in efforts to aid people affected by the fire, directing evacuees to shelter.